WWALDE, Texas (AP) – Fourteen children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, and the 18-year-old shooter is dead, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Abbott said a local man opened fire at Rob Elementary School in Uwalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio. It was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, four years after a gunman fatally shot dead 10 people at a high school in Santa Fe, Houston.
“He shot and killed, horribly, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher,” the governor said, adding that two officers had been shot and wounded but were expected to survive.
The gunman was a resident of the community and entered the school with a gun and possibly a rifle and opened fire, Abbott said. He said the shooter had probably been killed by police, but that the events were still being investigated.
It is not immediately clear how many people, other than those killed, were injured in the shooting. Earlier, the Uwalde Memorial Hospital said 13 children had been taken there. Another hospital said a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.
Just under 600 students are enrolled in Rob’s primary school.
Increased police presence surrounded the school on Tuesday afternoon, with heavy-duty vests diverting traffic and FBI agents coming in and out of the building.
White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden had been informed of the school shooting of Air Force One as he returned from a five-day trip to Asia and would continue to receive updates. Jean-Pierre said Biden would make remarks Tuesday night at the White House.
The shooting in Texas came less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 black shoppers and workers in what authorities described as hate crime.
Uwalde is home to about 16,000 people and is the seat of the Uwalde County Government. The city is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the border with Mexico. Robb Elementary is located in a mostly residential area with modest houses. There is a funeral home across the street from the school.
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